1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to laser machining tubing to form stents.
2. Description of the State of the Art
This invention relates to laser machining of devices such as stents. Laser machining refers to removal of material accomplished through laser and target material interactions. Generally speaking, these processes include laser drilling, laser cutting, and laser grooving, marking or scribing. Laser machining processes transport photon energy into a target material in the form of thermal energy or photochemical energy. Material is removed by melting and blow away, or by direct vaporization/ablation.
The application of ultrashort-pulse lasers for high quality laser material processing is particularly useful due to the extremely high intensity, ultrashort-pulse duration (<1 picosecond), and non-contact nature of the processing. Ultrashort pulse lasers allow precise and efficient processing, especially at the microscale. Compared with long-pulse lasers and other conventional manufacturing techniques, ultrashort pulse lasers provide precise control of material removal, can be used with an extremely wide range of materials, produce lower thermal damage, and provide the capability for very clean small features. These features make ultrashort-pulse lasers a promising tool for microfabrication, thin film formation, laser cleaning, and medical and biological applications.
However, laser machining of a substrate tends to result in unwanted heat transfer to a substrate resulting in a heat affected zone. The heat affected zone is a region on the target material that is not removed, but is affected by heat due to the laser. The properties of material in the zone can be adversely affected by heat from the laser. Therefore, it is generally desirable to reduce or eliminate heat input beyond removed material, thus reducing or eliminating the heat affected zone.
One of the many medical applications for laser machining includes fabrication of radially expandable endoprostheses, which are adapted to be implanted in a bodily lumen. An “endoprosthesis” corresponds to an artificial device that is placed inside the body. A “lumen” refers to a cavity of a tubular organ such as a blood vessel.
A stent is an example of such an endoprosthesis. Stents are generally cylindrically shaped devices, which function to hold open and sometimes expand a segment of a blood vessel or other anatomical lumen such as urinary tracts and bile ducts. Stents are often used in the treatment of atherosclerotic stenosis in blood vessels. “Stenosis” refers to a narrowing or constriction of the diameter of a bodily passage or orifice. In such treatments, stents reinforce body vessels and prevent restenosis following angioplasty in the vascular system. “Restenosis” refers to the reoccurrence of stenosis in a blood vessel or heart valve after it has been treated (as by balloon angioplasty, stenting, or valvuloplasty) with apparent success.
The treatment of a diseased site or lesion with a stent involves both delivery and deployment of the stent. “Delivery” refers to introducing and transporting the stent through a bodily lumen to a region, such as a lesion, in a vessel that requires treatment. “Deployment” corresponds to the expanding of the stent within the lumen at the treatment region. Delivery and deployment of a stent are accomplished by positioning the stent about one end of a catheter, inserting the end of the catheter through the skin into a bodily lumen, advancing the catheter in the bodily lumen to a desired treatment location, expanding the stent at the treatment location, and removing the catheter from the lumen.
In the case of a balloon expandable stent, the stent is mounted about a balloon disposed on the catheter. Mounting the stent typically involves compressing or crimping the stent onto the balloon. The stent is then expanded by inflating the balloon. The balloon may then be deflated and the catheter withdrawn. In the case of a self-expanding stent, the stent may be secured to the catheter via a retractable sheath or a sock. When the stent is in a desired bodily location, the sheath may be withdrawn which allows the stent to self-expand.
The stent must be able to satisfy a number of mechanical requirements. First, the stent must be capable of withstanding the structural loads, namely radial compressive forces, imposed on the stent as it supports the walls of a vessel. Therefore, the stent must possess adequate radial strength and rigidity. Radial strength, which is the ability of a stent to resist radial compressive forces, is due to strength around a circumferential direction of the stent.
Once expanded, the stent must adequately maintain its size and shape throughout its service life despite the various forces that may come to bear on it, including the cyclic loading induced by the beating heart. For example, a radially directed force may tend to cause a stent to recoil inward. Generally, it is desirable to minimize recoil. In addition, the stent must possess sufficient flexibility to allow for crimping, expansion, and cyclic loading without fracturing that would adversely affect stent performance. Finally, the stent must be biocompatible so as not to trigger any adverse vascular responses.
The structure of a stent is typically composed of scaffolding that includes a pattern or network of interconnecting structural elements often referred to in the art as struts or bar arms. The scaffolding can be formed from wires, tubes, or sheets of material rolled into a cylindrical shape. The scaffolding is designed so that the stent can be radially compressed (to allow crimping) and radially expanded (to allow deployment).
Stents have been made of many materials such as metals and polymers, including biodegradable polymeric materials. Biodegradable stents are desirable in many treatment applications in which the presence of a stent in a body may be necessary for a limited period of time until its intended function of, for example, achieving and maintaining vascular patency and/or drug delivery is accomplished.
Stents can be fabricated by forming patterns on tubes or sheets using laser machining. However, as indicated above, the use of laser machining can have adverse effects on the properties of a material, including polymers.